Vicar For Religious - Diocese of Covington

Women Religious in the Diocese of Covington
Sisters of Divine Providence
Benedictine Sisters of St. Walburg Monastery
Passionist Nuns
Sisters of Notre Dame
Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker

Communities of Women and Men Religious

To lean more, click on “View Our Communities” below.

Women Religious in Diocese of Covington

January 31, 2024/in Religious Life

Meet the Vicar for Religious

Sister Marla Monahan, SND serves as the liaison between Bishop Iffert and the men and women religious ministering in the Diocese. She coordinates meetings between the Bishop and religious superiors, serves as a resource for religious communities, facilitates collaboration among communities, coordinates celebrations of religious life and prepares communications related to religious life. For information about the men and women religious of the diocese, contact Sister Marla at (859) 392-1569.

Meet the Vocation Directors for the Communities of Women Religious

Sister Cathy Bauer, OSB

Benedictine Sisters

Sister Cathy has been the Vocation Director for the Benedictine Sisters for over 20 years. She is also a spiritual director, social worker, she coordinates the volunteers at the Monastery, and ministers in the Monastery Infirmary.

Information for the Benedictine Sisters can be found at…

Vocations – St. Walburg Monastery (stwalburg.org)

Home – St. Walburg Monastery (stwalburg.org)

Sister Ruth Lubbers, SND

Sisters of Notre Dame

Sister Ruth has been a full-time Vocation Director for the Sisters of Notre Dame for the past 12 years. She is also a spiritual director and the volunteer coordinator for the SND Covington region, and Assistant Director of the SND Vocation/Young Adult Ministry Team.

Information for the Sisters of Notre Dame can be found at…

Vocations – #withyouonthejourney (sndusa.org)

Sisters of Notre Dame U.S.A. – One Heart. One Hope. One Mission. (sndusa.org)

Mother Marie Michelle Mudd, CP

Passionist Nuns

Mother Marie Michelle has been a Passionist Nun for 59 years. She currently serves as the Vocation Director. Her ministry includes prayer for the local and universal church and the world.

Information for the Passionist Nuns can be found at…

Formation — PASSIONISTS NUNS MONASTERY (erlangerpassionists.org)

PASSIONISTS NUNS MONASTERY (erlangerpassionists.org)

Sister Leslie Keener, CDP

Sisters of Divine Providence

Sister Leslie serves as the Vocation Director and the director of God Space, a community-building spirituality ministry of the CDPs that also offers a podcast. She also serves as a spiritual director.

Information for the Congregation of Divine Providence can be found at…

How Do I Become A Sister? (Steps) – (cdpkentucky.org)

Home – (cdpkentucky.org)

God Space (godspacecommunity.com)

The Providence Podcast (availableon.com)

Mother Mary Christina Murray, SJW

Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker

Mother Mary Christina serves as the Superior General and Vocation Director of the Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker. She has degrees in Music Education and Nursing. While working in her role as Superior General and Vocation Director, she strives to fulfill the charism of the community to share Christ’s saving love.

Information for the Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker can be found at…

What is a vocation? – Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker (ssjw.org)

Home – Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker Religious Community (ssjw.org)

Excerpts from Pope Francis’ message to all consecrated people:

I am counting on you “to wake up the world”, since the distinctive sign of consecrated life is prophecy. As I told the Superiors General: “Radical evangelical living is not only for religious: it is demanded of everyone. But religious follow the Lord in a special way, in a prophetic way.” This is the priority that is needed right now: “to be prophets who witness to how Jesus lived on this earth… a religious must never abandon prophecy” (29 November 2013).

Prophets receive from God the ability to scrutinize the times in which they live and to interpret events: they are like sentinels who keep watch in the night and sense the coming of the dawn (cf. Is 21:11-12). Prophets know God and they know the men and women who are their brothers and sisters. They are able to discern and denounce the evil of sin and injustice. Because they are free, they are beholden to no one but God, and they have no interest other than God. Prophets tend to be on the side of the poor and the powerless, for they know that God himself is on their side.

Once again, we have to ask ourselves: Is Jesus really our first and only love, as we promised he would be when we professed our vows? Only if he is, will we be empowered to love, in truth and mercy, every person who crosses our path. For we will have learned from Jesus the meaning and practice of love. We will be able to love because we have his own heart.

“Where there are religious, there is joy”. We are called to know and show that God is able to fill our hearts to the brim with happiness; that we need not seek our happiness elsewhere; that the authentic fraternity found in our communities increases our joy; and that our total self-giving in service to the Church, to families and young people, to the elderly and the poor, brings us life-long personal fulfilment.

None of us should be dour, discontented and dissatisfied, for “a gloomy disciple is a disciple of gloom”. Like everyone else, we have our troubles, our dark nights of the soul, our disappointments and infirmities, our experience of slowing down as we grow older. But in all these things we should be able to discover “perfect joy”. For it is here that we learn to recognize the face of Christ, who became like us in all things, and to rejoice in the knowledge that we are being conformed to him who, out of love of us, did not refuse the sufferings of the cross.

Apostolic Letter
from Pope Francis to all consecrated people,
November 21, 2014

Congratulations Jubilarians of 2025!

CDPJubilarians2025 — Sisters of Divine Providence (from left) 70-year jubilarians: Sr. Armella Pietrowski, Sr. Jackie Schack and 60-year jubilarians: Sr. Marie Rose Messingschlager, Sr. Janet Carr and Sr. Madonna Kling.

SNDJubilarians2025 — Sisters of Notre Dame (front row, from left) Sr. Ruth Riehle, Sr. M. Carol Baglan, Sr. M. Magdelyn Strittholt, and Sr. M. Ruth Agnes Delaney (back row, from left) Sr. Marge Mouch, Sr. Bernamarie Lauer, Sr. M. Kristel Noehring, Sr. Mary Patricia Bruemmer, Sr. Ann Marie Pflum, Sr. Pamela Mae Geiger, Sr. M. Juanelle Thiel, and Sr. M. Margaret Droege

The Diocese of Covington is home to five communities of Women Religious and one Public Association of the Faithful. Learn more about them by visiting their Facebook page and join them for spiritual events and service activities.

Benedictine Sisters of
St. Walburg Monastery